Mher Sedrakyan’s and Arakel Movsisyan’s business lives and prospers. Now, they are sending “thank-you messages” to their partner Ruben Hakobyan for “behaving himself manly” and for “pointing the journalists to their place.” Since Mr. Hakobyan’s future political career is difficult to imagine in the opposition field, it is highly possible to involve him into the RPA (or at least, to PAP and ARF) list and after the end of the next parliamentary term, he perhaps may be rewarded a second-class medal for the services to the Motherland. And it certainly would be logical, you know, they create the Armenian statehood while we are “falling under the feet” with our wrong questions. I do not accept that argument, “but you, the journalists, also sometimes exceed the bounds”. Not because we do not exceed the bounds but because we do not curse or beat the parliamentarians while they dare to raise their hand on us.
Our weapons are not equal. If the parliamentarian does not like the journalist’s questions, he anyway must have enough intellectual potential and preparedness to respond to these questions with restrained and politeness, or if he is reluctant to answer, to say, “I do not comment.” To be a parliamentarian since 1990 and not be able to do this much… allow me not to comment on this. In all cases, answering the question (even if the worst, the most wrongful, the most absurd and provocative question) with a fist is a sign of weakness and helplessness.
Do I like all publications of my colleagues? Of course, not. Sometimes, you read such titles on the Internet that you are amazed why the users are opening this link. Approximately, “Putin and Obama have discussed the issue Gagik Tsarukyan’s return to the politics.” If these apparently concocted rumors refer to specific individuals, does it worth answering in nervous, hysterical, boyish, hooligan and street-style manners? Perhaps, not. Especially when the “target” is endowed with high status of a minister or a parliamentarian. Are we, the journalists, constantly asking serious, meaningful and thoughtful questions? Apparently, not. Is it necessary to offer in response to disliked question, “let us remove the plate numbers and go down the gorge”? Definitely, not. Do I think that this time too the parliamentarian’s violence against the journalist will remain unpunished? Surely, yes.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
